300w bulb and socket for China Balls

[Bryce Lansing]

I'm lighting a dim, fancy restaurant for a spec commercial, and I'm thinking of lighting each table overhead with a china ball. My original thought was to mount tweenies/soft boxes overhead on C-Stands, which could work for close ups/mediums, but then what would I do for the wides.

 

A teacher suggested going with the china balls and skirting them to direct the light down to each table. He said that mole richardson has 300w bulbs and sockets that can be safely hung in china balls without burning the bulbs. Does anyone know of these, or what the exact type of bulb and socket is called?

 

I'm shooting on am HVX200a and a Letus Extreme/Nikons. Would a 300w bulb in a china ball give me enough light as a key light for my main two actors? If so, would an 80w incandescent bulb in each china ball to light each backgroud table be too much dimmer than the subjects? Or would it be right?

 

Does anyone have any advice or other ways of lighting that might work better?

[Jamie Metzger]

I'm lighting a dim, fancy restaurant for a spec commercial, and I'm thinking of lighting each table overhead with a china ball. My original thought was to mount tweenies/soft boxes overhead on C-Stands, which could work for close ups/mediums, but then what would I do for the wides.

 

A teacher suggested going with the china balls and skirting them to direct the light down to each table. He said that mole richardson has 300w bulbs and sockets that can be safely hung in china balls without burning the bulbs. Does anyone know of these, or what the exact type of bulb and socket is called?

 

I'm shooting on am HVX200a and a Letus Extreme/Nikons. Would a 300w bulb in a china ball give me enough light as a key light for my main two actors? If so, would an 80w incandescent bulb in each china ball to light each backgroud table be too much dimmer than the subjects? Or would it be right?

 

Does anyone have any advice or other ways of lighting that might work better?

without being a D i CK, use the search feature on this forum. This topic has been covered.

 

If you are lazy: anything over 200w in a plastic socket (the kind that usally come with a china ball) will melt the plastic. Pick up a porcelain socket from a hardware/lighting store and look for 660w on the inside of the socket. You should be fine with that.

 

Obviously 300w compared to an 80w light is roughly a 16:1 ratio (4 times the "brightness"). In this scenario when you will be diffusing the lights through a china ball, use a brighter bulb and use a dimmer to get the right output. You will experience slightly warmer Color temperatures when dimming though.

 

Definitely bring duvytyne to shape the light.

[JD Hartman]

It's a shame that the same teacher who suggested using the paper lantern, a.k.a. "china ball", didn't explain to the entire class, the proper socket to use and how to wire it, ways to control its output, etc.